Call for Nominations: AASSREC Grant Review Committee

The Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC) is embarking on an exciting initiative to support social science research in the Asia-Pacific region through our program ‘Boosting Social Sciences and their Contribution to Better Lives across the Indo-Pacific’. This program is a collaborative partnership between AASSREC, the Global Development Network (GDN) and UNESCO. Funded by a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the program will focus on mapping and understanding the current state and opportunities for social science; supporting high-priority research initiatives through research grants, policy papers and researcher mentoring activities; and by connecting and empowering social science research organisations, councils and funders across the region to collaborate and engage with policy-makers to enhance research impact and improve lives.

As part of this endeavour, we are seeking interested social science researchers to serve as members of the Grant Review Committee for the program’s two grant programs.

Our goal is to assemble a diverse pool of experts who can provide insightful evaluations of grant applications and contribute to the selection process. We welcome self-nominations as well as recommendations of others’ who could potentially be approached to support this important endeavour.

Committee role

The Grant Review Committee will oversee the review and selection of the following grant rounds:

• INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE COLLABORATION AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
  Two rounds of small grants (AU$5,750 for projects up to 12 months) focused on supporting international collaboration between early and mid-career social science researchers from low and middle-income countries with researchers in other parts of the Asia-Pacific. The intention of these grants is to support travel or other collaboration expenses that either build on an existing research project (beyond the scope of what has already been funded) or focus on developing or piloting a new collaborative initiative. The program will give priority to applications in one of four priority areas (climate change, public health and disaster response, technological transformations, and equity, gender and indigeneity) and will also prioritise applications from women researchers and those from underrepresented groups. Each of the two grant rounds is expected to support 11 grants, for 22 in total across the 2.5 year program.
• PRIORITY SOCIAL SCIENCE COLLABORATION GRANTS
  Similar to the small grants program but with funding up to AU$57,500 per grant (projects up to 12 months) within defined priority areas (these to be finalised following AASSREC’s Regional Summit for Social Science Funding and Collaboration in May, 2024).

Assessment and time commitment

Grant Review committee members will be involved in reviewing and selecting projects to receive funding in each of the grant rounds.

• For the International Social Science Collaboration and Development Grants, each committee member will independently review shortlisted proposals against the selection criteria in each round. Ratings will be aggregated and standardised across committee members, then the committee will meet as a group (online) to make a final selection from a ranked list of proposals. Altogether Committee Members will be expected to dedicate 3-4 hours to assessment and meetings for each of the two rounds (in June/July 2024 and early 2025)
• For the Priority Social Science Collaboration Grants, committee members will be asked to briefly review all shortlisted applications along with independent assessor reports, prior to meeting as a group to finalise selections. Committee Members will be expected to dedicate 8-10 hours to assessment and a meeting for this round (between August and September, 2024)

General requirements for Grant Review Committee members

1. Qualifications: Grant Committee members should hold a PhD and have a minimum of 10 years’ relevant research experience in a social sciences domain, and with experience working in the Asia-Pacific region. Experience assessing research funding proposals would be an advantage.
2. Conflict of Interest: Individuals who are applying for an AASSREC grant are not eligible to serve on the Grant Review Committee .
3. Diversity: AASSREC is committed to promoting diversity and inclusivity in our selection process. We encourage nominations of individuals from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and geographical regions within the Asia-Pacific region.
4. Mid-Career Experts: While there is no upper limit on expertise, we are particularly interested in engaging mid-career experts who may bring fresh perspectives and insights to the review process. We believe that widening the pool of available experts will enhance the quality and diversity of our evaluations.
5. Collaborative Approach: We value collaboration and teamwork in our selection process. Grant Review Committee members will be expected to work together collaboratively and respectfully to ensure thorough and fair evaluations of all grant applications.

We invite you to nominate yourself or another qualified individual to serve on the Grant Review Committee for this program. Committee members will not be paid for their service, but AASSREC will be able to provide an official letter confirming the selection, contribution and service of members, on request.

Submitting a nomination

Please submit your nomination, along with the nominee’s CV and a brief justification for the nominee by the closing date via:  https://form.jotform.com/AASSREC/grant-review-committee

Nominations Close: 24 May 2024

Your contributions to this important endeavour will help advance social science research and foster regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Thank you for your support and cooperation.

Contact for enquiries

If you have any questions or require further information about the Grant Review Committee please contact the AASSREC Secretariat via email: info@aassrec.org or phone: +61 2 6249 1788.